Big news out of Bloomberg Friday morning: Per the New York Times’ Ravi Somaiya, Bloomberg Chief Digital Content Officer Joshua Topolsky is departing the financial news organization after “clashes with Michael Bloomberg over direction of website.”
Bloomberg's Joshua Topolsky set to leave the company following clashes with Michael Bloomberg over direction of website. Story soon.
— Ravi Somaiya (@ravisomaiya) July 10, 2015
A spokesperson for Bloomberg declined to comment.
Topolsky is the latest casualty of ongoing tensions at Bloomberg, which has been well chronicled in the press. Among the pain points: a purported atmosphere of “fear and mistrust” in the news organization’s Washington bureau; conflicts between Bloomberg’s new consumer-focused digital hires and the well-established financial news stalwarts; and a fear of diminishing editorial ambition in light of the departure of high-level editors.
In addition to the infusion of new digital talent, Bloomberg has seen the uppermost echelons of its leadership change in recent months. John Micklethwait, formerly the editor of The Economist, was selected to replace longtime editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler late last year. That appointment was preceded by the return of Michael Bloomberg to Bloomberg LP.
Since Bloomberg rejoined the company, he has been making big changes to its news division.
Topolsky joined Bloomberg from The Verge, where he was editor-in-chief.
Update, 11:34 a.m.: In a statement, Topolsky appeared to attribute his departure to a growing “appetite for change” that required him to strike out on his own:
After many discussions with Justin and John, it was clear that whatever I did next, I needed to do on my own. With nothing but love and admiration for the people I’ve had a chance to work with and to know, I know that time is right now.
